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APN Asks Speaker Hastert to Support Bush Position on H.R. 4681

APN today called on House Speaker Dennis Hastert to support President George W. Bush's position regarding H.R. 4681, the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - May 15, 2006

Washington, D.C.-Americans for Peace Now (APN) today called on House Speaker Dennis Hastert to support President George W. Bush's position regarding H.R. 4681, the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006. The Bush Administration has raised a series of serious objections to the legislation. In addition, APN cautioned the House about taking steps that could potentially undercut the work of the Quartet to find a new mechanism for delivering humanitarian aid to the Palestinians. APN is a Jewish, Zionist organization dedicated to enhancing Israel's security through peace and to supporting the Israeli Peace Now movement.

In a letter to Speaker Hastert, Debra DeLee, President and CEO of Americans for Peace Now, wrote, "I am writing to urge you to support President George W. Bush's position regarding H.R. 4681, the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006.Like the president, we support efforts to pressure Hamas into changing its positions regarding Israel and the peace process. Like the president, we appreciate the changes that have been made to improve the original bill to provide him with greater flexibility in conducting foreign policy. But like the president, we find that H.R. 4681 remains a significantly flawed piece of legislation that requires substantial improvements in order not to be objectionable.

"Specifically, we believe, along with the president, that greater flexibility is needed to provide support for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and for non-Hamas Palestinian institutions. The president must be given the kind of national security waiver authority typically included in sanctions legislation. A sunset clause must be attached to bans on dealing with the Palestinian Authority in order to give moderate Palestinians a political incentive for either encouraging Hamas to change its positions or to replace Hamas in new elections. And provisions that apply broadly to all elements of the Palestinian Authority must be changed to exclude leaders, agencies, and outside institutions that are not associated with Hamas, such as legislators who belong to Fatah or representatives of the PLO, to which Hamas does not belong.

"In addition, we caution the House about taking steps that could potentially undercut the work of the Quartet to find a new mechanism for delivering humanitarian aid to the Palestinians. The Administration and Israel have expressed interest in working through this mechanism to avert a humanitarian disaster in the West Bank and Gaza. But this mechanism has not yet been developed. We encourage you not to take action on legislation in the House that could possibly undercut this important effort."